Adapting to a new kitchen & @staffscakeclub

We've moved house, which is great - because the house we've brought (like proper grown ups) has got a massive kitchen - in a slightly odd configuration - but it's huge, with exciting things like plugs, and worktop space, and space for a table. The old owners even left a massive bookcase perfect for the cookbooks

We've been in the new house a couple of months, but that have also been mentally buys months so I haven't really done much cooking, let alone big scale baking. I did make a grape jelly the other day, but that was more because I was annoyed we weren't eating the grapes in the fridge and I was in a waste-not want-not kind of mood. It's also handy having Charlotte up the street who could lend me a straining bag, even if we had to google picture to work out to the assemble it (also, only 1 out of 3 supermarkets in Stafford had pectin! I had to send Pete to Tesco on his way home.)

Anyway, a weekend without major things to do resulted in some serious baking:

in my head, when I bake I like to think I'm on a tv program and make sure I have all the ingredient out in front of me.

a couple of methodical hours later:

Ta-da - apple pie cake from The Boy Who Bakes

There's another reason for making a massive cake - I actually hardly ever make one, usually because 2 people can't easily eat a whole cake made for 12-16 people without being very ill. Luckily Jess was coming around for coffee, she's taken some for Neil and I'm sure my office mate Chris will eat some tomorrow....

Which bring me onto exciting news, I'm clearly not alone in this this, little cakes are lovely, but massive wodge slices of cake are much more fun - which is why Charlotte & I have joined The Clandestine Cake Club and we're hosting our first event in Stafford on the 9th of May.